Jackle's story
by Torph909
Summary: The title is a bit stupid, but I'm not good with titles. Anyway, starts off before NID. Jackle's point of view. Rated T, because of violence.  *Complete*
1. The maniac

_AN: I don't know what Puffy is, some people say she is a rabbit…but I think she is a balloon so for now she is a balloon._

Jackle walked through one of the many corridors, it was narrow, but everyone made space for him. Jackle scowled, the people moving past him quickened their pace, eager to get away from him. He hated this, but this was his castle as much as it was anyone else's. He had every right to walk through it if he wanted to. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to anymore, if he was always going to be treated like this. He when he had been created, Wizeman had decided to use Jackle as a guinea pig. He used Jackle to test how intelligent he could make his creations. Jackle was a success, sort of. Whilst he was extremely intelligent, when compared to Wizeman's previous creations. He was mentally unstable. This didn't mean he was insane, it was a strange condition. No one, in the world of dreams had it, except for Jackle. He was normal 99% of the time. Though, occasionally, he would go completely crazy. This only happened, around once or twice a month. It happened more frequently when Jackle was under stress, because of this, Wizeman didn't send him out on assignments very often. He could crack under the stress, and do something to ruin the entire operation. Whilst a small number of nightmaren knew the truth about Jackle, the others had chosen to believe some of the many rumours about him. They thought he was completely insane, and would avoid him whenever they could. Jackle grumbled to himself, irritated. He made his way up a set of stairs and continued walking. He wasn't really going anywhere, he just wanted to walk around for a bit. He stepped out into a large hallway, there was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. When Jackle looked up at the chandelier, he noticed something up there next to it. Or rather someone. It was Puffy. Puffy fumed when she saw Jackle, and soared down to confront him. Jackle just stood there, Puffy was floating in front of him now.

"I've wanted to talk to you for quite some time now, Jackle." She said angrily, the nightmaren had been looking at Jackle at first. But now they stared at Puffy, surprised. Jackle supposed it was because of the way she was treating him. Jackle had heard some of the rumours that had been circling round recently. Some said he ate other nightmaren alive. Others said he would possess people, making them his servants. If any of them believed this, (Which a surprising amount did) they would probably think it would be wise to treat Jackle carefully. The rumours were ridiculous, the thought of them made Jackle smile.

"What's so funny?" Puffy asked, in an icy tone.

"Nothing." Jackle replied calmly, but the smile didn't leave his face, "So, what do you want?" Nightmaren had began creeping into the hall, to watch. Puffy was known for flipping out at people that annoyed her, and Jackle was known for many frightening (But untrue) things. This would be interesting to watch.

"Do you remember that_ joke_ you pulled on me?" She said 'joke' in a way that made it clear she hadn't found funny in the slightest. Jackle always pulled pranks on the other nightmaren, there wasn't much else to do in the castle. He spent most of his time stuck here, because Wizeman didn't trust him on assignments, so Jackle used this as a way to pass the time. Besides, he wasn't very fond of the other nightmaren. He didn't hate them, he understood their reasons for avoiding him, even if they were just rumours. He just grew tired of the way they treated him, and this was how he got them back. Jackle played dumb, pretending to think hard. Puffy waited impatiently for a while, then yelled,

"Hurry up!" The other nightmaren flinched, expecting Jackle to flip out. He didn't. He looked up calmly at Puffy and said,

"I'm sorry, you'll have to be more specific." He was still smiling.

"Two days ago," Puffy said slowly, fuming.

"Oh, of course!" Jackle said mockingly, "How could I forget?" He remembered it quite well. It had been one of his less imaginative pranks. He had simply stolen one of Clawz's fireworks, it was the smallest one he could find. He just wanted to scare Puffy not actually hurt her. It was a small bomb, which didn't let off a big explosion, but made a very loud bang. When it went off Puffy had flown backwards in shock. She bounced off the wall, then fell into another and bounced off that as well. She had moving too fast for her to stop herself. She had bounced through the castle for a while, until someone finally helped her. Jackle grinned mischievously.

"Now," Puffy said, she inflated, Jackle thought she was about to explode. She did (Not literally). She screamed at him for two whole minutes. More nightmaren began pouring into the room, to see what the fuss was about. When Puffy finally finished, Jackle adopted an innocent look and asked,

"Sorry, didn't catch that. Could you tell me again?" Puffy fumed and yelled,

"I'm a balloon!" She cried,

"I figured that out for myself." Jackle said, the other nightmaren snickered.

"But…no…that's not…" Puffy tried to explain, then she yelled, "Why did you do that? I'm a balloon! Of course I'm going to bounce around!"

"Hey, I was just trying to scare you." Jackle replied, honestly, "It's not my fault you decided to fly straight into a wall." The nightmaren snickered again.

"Oh, I'm a balloon! That's so funny!" She said sarcastically.

"Actually it is." Jackle said, "The fact that you're a nightmaren makes it even funnier. Why should a dreamer be scared of you?" Puffy glared at Jackle.

"I'll have you know, that visitors are terrified of me." Puffy snarled.

"Oh, I'm sure." Jackle said sarcastically, "Who wouldn't be frightened of somebody, who has to be careful not to be blown away by a light breeze?" The other nightmaren laughed. Puffy inflated angrily. Jackle just grinned.

"Look who's talking!" She exclaimed, "Living clothes? That isn't exactly scary!" Jackle said nothing, still smiling. He _did_ have a body it was just invisible, so the 'living clothes' part wasn't true. As for the other bit…he had to admit, he wasn't exactly terrifying.

"True." Jackle admitted, "I might not be the most scary looking thing inside this castle." Puffy smiled. "Although," Jackle continued, "I can make up for it with strategy." The other nightmaren, looked at Puffy expectantly.

"Strategy?" She scoffed.

"Yes," Jackle said simply, Puffy stopped smiling and glowered at Jackle.

"If you believe what you are saying, then your crazier than I thought." Jackle looked at Puffy for a moment, then said,

"At least I'm not afraid of pins." The other nightmaren laughed, Puffy froze. She was secretly terrified of sharp objects, Jackle had overheard her confessing to one of her friends. She looked ashamed. Then, she floated off. Jackle smiled to himself, turned back the way he came, and walked back down the stairs. He had had enough for today.

Jackle sat in his lair, examining his deck of cards. Not that he was really looking at them, he was just thinking. He sat on top of a giant blue box. There were many other, over-sized boxes in his lair along with enlarged toys, like jack-in-the-boxes and rubber balls. They were all scattered around the room at random, a white mattress lay in the middle of the room. Jackle sighed, he was bored. His conversation with Puffy, had been entertaining while it had lasted. But now there was nothing to do. Jackle frowned, then put down his cards, and jumped off the box. He decided he might as well go to sleep, he made his way towards the mattress, then somebody coughed behind him. Jackle turned around, to see a nightmaren. He was dressed in a purple jester's outfit which had a red ideya shard stuck on the front. The shard meant that this person, was a first-level. The nightmaren ranking system was very basic. First, you had the third-levels. They were the lowest rank, they were created by Wizeman to have no intelligence of their own, to be simple servants. They could be ordered around by anyone, they stayed down in the cellars all of the time, only coming out when Wizeman needed them. Alone they were powerless, but made up for it in numbers. Then there were the second-levels, they were average, to put it simply. They were relatively intelligent, and relatively powerful on there own. They had free reign of the castle, except for some of the restricted areas. They could order around the third-levels. And finally, there were the first-levels. They were extremely powerful by themselves, and only answered to Wizeman himself. They could order anyone else around, they all wore ideya shards on their chests, to show their rank. Jackle _would _have been a first-level, if he had been created the way Wizeman had wanted him to be. But, because of his unstable mentality, he was demoted to second-level. Someone in his condition couldn't be trusted with power. Jackle frowned, the jester didn't look like first-level material. He looked rather timid and unimpressive looking, none the less Jackle treated him like he should. When he saw the Jester, he bowed. The jester pulled a face, Jackle looked up at him, confused. The jester looked embarrassed. Then the jester spoke,

"You don't have to do that you know." Jackle stood up straight, and gave him a puzzled look.

"Yeah, I know, I'm a first-level…." The jester began, his cheeks were glowing red, "It's just I don't like it when people treat me as though I'm better than them." Jackle's jaw dropped.

"Please, pardon me if I am being disrespectful, sir." Jackle said, in an astonished voice, "But you _are_ better than me. You were created to be superior to everyone else." The jester just shrugged, and said,

"I know. I just feel uncomfortable with it, could you…" He stopped for a moment then said, "Just treat me like you would any other second-level, ok?"

"O-okay…" Jackle said, still rather surprised, "So…who are you?"

"My name's NiGHTS." The jester said, looking a lot happier now, "what's yours?"

"My name's Jackle." He had been about to say 'sir' but, he managed to stop himself.

"It's good to meet you." NiGHTS said enthusiastically. Jackle was still rather confused.

"If you don't mind me asking…" Jackle began, taking a step forward, "What are you doing down here?" NiGHTS just smiled and replied,

"I'm just getting to know everyone."

"You're new then, I take it?"

"Yep!" NiGHTS replied cheerfully.

"Didn't any of the other nightmaren tell you about me?" Jackle asked.

"What do you mean?" NiGHTS asked, frowning.

"Well…I'm not exactly a great guy to hang around with." Jackle said slowly, he couldn't believe he was having this conversation.

"Why not?" NiGHTS asked, "You seem like a alright guy to me." Jackle didn't say anything, hoping NiGHTS could figure it out...

"What…?" NiGHTS began, but he stopped and said, "Oh! You're _that_ Jackle!" Jackle didn't know how NiGHTS would react. But he hadn't expected him to say,

"Thanks." Jackle stared at NiGHTS for a few second then said, dumbly,

"What?"

"Wizeman told me about you." NiGHTS explained, cheerfully, " He said, when he created me, he got all of the skills from the other nightmaren that made them strong, and gave them to me." He smiled and said, "For example, he gave me your smarts." NiGHTS tapped the side of his head, "He told me what happened to you, when he created you. I figured that if you went through that, so people like me could be better off, I should at least thank you for it." Jackle continued to stare at him, then he said,

"Well…er…no problem…I guess…." Jackle was confused. He didn't know what to say. Nobody had ever treated him like this.

"So," NiGHTS began, looking at Jackle expectantly.

"So, what?" Jackle asked. NiGHTS sighed, and said,

"Are you going to tell me about yourself, or what?"

"What? Why would I do that?" Jackle asked, bewildered.

NiGHTS sighed, "You don't talk to people much do you?" Jackle shook his head. "Why not?"

"It's not my choice," Jackle explained, "Everyone thinks I'm crazy, they don't want to be around me." NiGHTS looked annoyed,

"That's stupid!" NiGHTS exclaimed, "They can't judge you if they know nothing about you!" Jackle had been sceptical at first. But, now he took a sudden liking to the jester.

Talking to NiGHTS felt more comfortable after that, Jackle wasn't sure how much time he had spent with NiGHTS. But he did know, was that he wished he had a bit more, when NiGHTS left. To Jackle's surprise NiGHTS returned the next day, and the day after. He learnt that NiGHTS had been created with a twin, named 'Reala'. According to NiGHTS, Reala wasn't very pleasant. Apparently, he was a bit boring. NiGHTS seemed to find Jackle interesting. He kept on asking about Jackle's body, and what sort of pranks he'd pulled. They talked a lot over the next few days. Jackle had never had a friend before, but he thought that he had just made one.

Fifteen years had passed. Jackle hadn't lost control as often since he had met NiGHTS. For some reason, he was a lot calmer when he was around him. But, that didn't mean Jackle didn't lose control at all. And yet, somehow NiGHTS put up with it. Sometimes, Jackle would come back to his senses, to see that he had attacked NiGHTS (When Jackle lost control, he was usually violent). NiGHTS could easily defend himself, but he didn't. Jackle never knew why. NiGHTS never blamed Jackle for what he did when he lost control, either. Jackle was grateful. The other first-levels disapproved of NiGHTS friendship with Jackle. But just let him be, they had lots of work to do and couldn't be caught up with thing like that. But, somehow NiGHTS would manage to make time, for Jackle. Jackle didn't know how he did, but NiGHTS would always manage to visit him in his lair. Except for today.

Jackle was pacing in his lair, whistling. It had become a habit of his, when he was worried or frustrated he would whistle the tune that NiGHTS played on his flute. He found it calming. He was anxious, NiGHTS hadn't been himself lately, he was failing the tasks he was given by Master Wizeman. Jackle was worried about NiGHTS. Had it been any other nightmaren, Wizeman would have executed him and been done with it. But he had put a lot of work into NiGHTS and he didn't want to get rid of him so quickly. Today, he had summoned NiGHTS to the throne room. That had been three hours ago. Jackle was sure Wizeman was punishing him in someway or another, but he didn't think that he would kill NiGHTS. He was too valuable. Jackle was still pacing when he entered. Jackle turned around,

"NiGHTS!" Jackle exclaimed, happily. Jackle couldn't see NiGHTS clearly, because he was standing in the shadows. Then NiGHTS stepped into the light. He was in bad shape. He had several cuts on his face, and red stains on his clothes (Which suggested that he had deeper cut across his body). His arm was bent at an awkward angle, and he was limping.

"NiGHTS!" Jackle said again, only this time in shock, "What happened?"

"I had a little chat with Wizeman." NiGHTS replied. He spoke quietly, and without emotion.

"Well…do you need any help?" Jackle asked, concerned.

"No, I'll be fine." NiGHTS said, in the same emotionless tone, "Besides, I've got things to do soon."

"One of Wizeman's assignments?" Jackle asked. NiGHTS looked at Jackle for a moment, still not giving away any emotion, then he said,

"Yes." Something about the way NiGHTS had said it didn't feel right... but Jackle trusted him.

"Are you ok?" Jackle asked. NiGHTS smiled, but it looked forced,

"Never better." Before Jackle could point out that his arm was. most likley, broken, NiGHTS asked, "Jackle, have you thought about what we're doing?"

"What do you mean?" Jackle asked, confused.

"I mean," NiGHTS began, he was showing emotion now, he looked nervous, "what Wizeman tells us to do." Jackle frowned,

"Why would I think about it, we do what we're told and that's that. Right?" NiGHTS looked even more nervous now, he was actually shaking.

"No, you don't understand," NiGHTS said, slowly, "I mean don't you think it's…wrong?" Jackle stared at NiGHTS for a few second, then said,

"Are you feeling ok, NiGHTS?"

NiGHTS took a while to respond, "No, I must've got hit in the head, or something." NiGHTS was backing out of the room now, Jackle thought he looked sad, for some reason, "I'd better go and lie down." Jackle watched him leave, then shook his head,

"_Well…that was weird." _He thought, _"He didn't even seem to be bothered that he was hurt."_ Jackle sighed,_ "Well…maybe he'll be better tomorrow…"_ Jackle lay down on his mattress,_ "Maybe…"_

_AN: Ok, that's it. I'll give it more of a plot in later chapters. I wanted to get to the main plot earlier, but the chapter was getting too long. Anyway, R&R. _


	2. Dynamic duo

_AN: Horray, for stupid chapter names! It will make sense soon enough. Remember what I said about the plot in later chapters? Yeah, not there yet. But it helps to have a back story and look at things in more detail, I suppose._

Jackle woke up, he hadn't slept easily. He yawned, and thought about what he should do today. He thought about what had happened yesterday. Jackle decided he should go and check on NiGHTS. He picked up his deck of cards, which had been lying on the floor, next to his mattress. He put them in his pocket, which was on the inside of his cape. He walked through a narrow tunnel, which led off his lair. He came to a set of stairs, which led up to the second-lowest floor of the castle. He came out into a corridor, he stopped and looked out the window. All he saw was a swirling, black void. That was normal, that castle didn't have anything outside it, so that was all there was too see. The only way to get out of nightmare castle was to warp. 'Warping' was the name given to travelling between dream worlds. Nightopia was split into different dream worlds, none of which were connected, this insured that dreamers would stay in their own dreams. The only beings able to warp in-between the different dream worlds were the nightopians and the nightmaren. Jackle continued on his way, the other nightmaren avoiding him, as always. It took a while to get to NiGHTS room, it was three floors up. Eventually, Jackle reached it. The door leading into it was plain and wooden, with a golden handle. Jackle knocked on it. There was silence. Jackle knocked again, harder this time. Then he heard a muffled voice,

"It's unlocked." Jackle opened it. The room wasn't very big, and didn't have much in it. The walls were made out of stone, which wasn't surprising, none of the nightmaren sleeping quarters had any decoration. The room was rather dark, compared to Jackle's lair. The only source of light, was a candle which sat on a wooden stool in one of the corners of the room. There was a metal bed frame, with a white mattress and sheets. NiGHTS lay in it. Someone must have tended to his wounds, his arm was tied up in a cast, the same went for his leg. He still had cuts, but they had all been covered with white bandaging. A second wooden stool sat next to the bed. When NiGHTS saw Jackle, he smiled. It was genuine, unlike the one he had had the day before.

"Hey, Jackle." NiGHTS said, still smiling.

"Hey, NiGHTS." Jackle replied, he sat down on the stool next to the bed, "How are you doing?"

"Well, my leg and my arm are broken, so I'm just fine." NiGHTS said sarcastically. Jackle laughed. NiGHTS frowned, and asked, "What happened yesterday?" Jackle frowned as well,

"Don't you remember?" He asked, concerned.

"Nope," NiGHTS replied, "I remember going into the throne room, but that's it."

"Do you know why you went in there?" Jackle asked.

"Yeah, I wasn't doing so well with what Wizeman told me to do." NiGHTS said,

"Why weren't you doing well?"

"I don't know," NiGHTS muttered, "it just didn't feel right. Which is funny 'cause I don't feel like that anymore."

"Well, that's good." Jackle remarked, "That way Wizeman won't have to punish you anymore."

"Oh!" NiGHTS said, "That how this happened." NiGHTS frowned, then added, "I probably should have figured that out earlier…" NiGHTS thought for a moment, then smiled again, saying, "Still, no point being all gloomy about it. It's not going to happen again, and that's that!" Jackle smiled, he never understood how NiGHTS could always find a bright side to everything.

"Do, you remember what you had to do?" Jackle asked,

"What?"

"Yesterday," Jackle explained, "you said that Wizeman had told you to do something." NiGHTS thought, then said,

"I must've forgotten that as well." NiGHTS pondered,

"Yeah." Jackle agreed. It probably wasn't very important. They spent a long time talking after that. As always, NiGHTS told Jackle about some of the more wacky nightmaren he had met. Even though NiGHTS was still quite young, he had a lot of stories to tell. Nightmaren weren't affected by age, you were no longer considered young when you were at least fifty. Jackle was sixty years old, but age wasn't important to nightmaren. In fact nobody cared about it at all, there were a few exceptions though, Jackle was one of them. They talked for long time, until someone else knocked on the door.

"The door's open." NiGHTS called. Puffy floated in. She moved towards Jackle.

"You didn't come here to nag me, did you?" Jackle asked, annoyed.

"No!" Puffy snapped, "And if you're going to treat me like that, I might as well forget about telling you!"

"Telling me what?" Jackle asked, standing up.

"I won't tell you, until you say sorry."

"What?!"

"You heard me." Puffy said, grinning. Jackle muttered something foul under his breath, and said,

"I'm sorry."

"There was that so hard?" Puffy asked mockingly, whilst most other nightmaren regarded Jackle as dangerous. Puffy didn't, she didn't know the truth about Jackle, but she didn't believe any of the rumours. To be honest, while she was never nice to him, Jackle liked the way she treated him. It was a better than being treated like a ticking time bomb.

"You have no idea." Jackle muttered. Puffy frowned,

"Why do you hang around with him, NiGHTS?" Puffy asked, curiously, "He isn't exactly a nice person." NiGHTS just smiled, and said,

"How would you know?" Puffy looked confused, then dismissed what NiGHTS said, and addressed Jackle,

"Anyway, Wizeman sent me."

"Why?" Jackle asked, if Wizeman wanted him it must be important.

"He says he wants both of you to go down to the throne room. I don't know any more than that." Puffy floated out. Jackle looked at NiGHTS, it was obvious that he would have difficultly getting there.

They had arrived, NiGHTS had had to fly the whole way, being careful not to bump into anything. Which meant that it took twice as long to get there, than it should have. Jackle stood (NiGHTS hovered above the ground) outside a giant pair of wooden doors. There were no handles. NiGHTS floated up to the door and, using his good hand, knocked on the door. There was silence, then a loud, echoing voice spoke,

"Enter." They pushed up open the doors. Jackle stood on a invisible floor, surrounded by a dark void. In front of NiGHTS and Jackle, stood the humongous figure of Wizeman. Jackle bowed, so did NiGHTS (As well as he could in his state). Two of Wizeman's hands flew down towards NiGHTS, inspecting him,

"I trust I will not have to punish you again, NiGHTS?" Wizeman asked,

"Of course not, Master." NiGHTS assured him, Wizeman didn't say anything, but he seemed to approve.

"In that case, I will heal your wounds." He said, "I need you operational." His two hands circled NiGHTS, covering him in a strange, orange, glow. NiGHTS was still, his eyes closed. Then the glow faded, NiGHTS opened his eyes.

"You will no longer need those." Wizeman said, the bandaging and casts on NiGHTS leg and arm, simply fell off. All of NiGHTS' cuts had disappeared and he could move his arm around without any trouble. NiGHTS flew down towards the 'floor' and tested his leg, when he was sure it was okay, he stood up, and said,

"Thank you, Master." It was strange to see NiGHTS acting so formally. Wizeman's hands flew back, so he could get a good view of the both of them.

"Now," Wizeman began, "I have an assignment for the two of you." Jackle and NiGHTS listened, intently. "It has come to my attention, that there is a certain dreamer who had eluded all of my other nightmaren. This dreamer possesses three ideya, I want the two of you, to retrieve them. Is that understood?" NiGHTS and Jackle nodded. "Good." Wizeman's hands flew back towards his body, "NiGHTS, you may leave. Jackle, I wish to speak with you." NiGHTS looked puzzled, but did as he was told. Jackle stayed where he was, waiting. The two of Wizeman's hands, studied him. Then Wizeman spoke,

"Am I correct in thinking, that you are confused as to why I made you and NiGHTS partners?"

"Yes." Jackle replied, honestly.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm a lower rank than him." Jackle replied, "I thought only nightmaren of the same rank could work together."

"Understandable." Wizeman muttered, then he said, "You are aware of NiGHTS previous failures, Jackle?"

"Yes, Master."

"It is my hope, that you will ensure NiGHTS carries out his tasks in the way I desire." Jackle didn't say anything, but Wizeman said, "You think he can do this without observation." Jackle was surprised. How did he know? Then Jackle reminded himself, Wizeman had the powers of a god. Who was to say he couldn't read minds? Jackle nodded.

"I believe I have ensured his loyalty, but it may only be temporary." Jackle translated this as,

"_I'm not taking any chances."_

"You have another query Jackle?" Wizeman asked. Jackle was taken aback, he still hadn't said anything.

"Why did you choose me?" He asked. Wizeman thought for a moment, then replied,

"You and NiGHTS trust each other, you would make a good team. In any other case I would use Reala for this task. But, I need to keep a close eye on him, to ensure he doesn't stray, like his twin." Wizeman paused, "As for your condition, from my observations, it is less likely to effect you in NiGHTS' company. So it will not be a problem." Wizeman's hands floated back towards his body. "You may leave, Jackle." Jackle walked out.

NiGHTS was waiting outside,

"What did he want?" He asked.

"He just wanted to make sure I was up for it." Jackle lied.

"Are you?"

"Yeah." NiGHTS smiled and said,

"Well, this is exciting isn't it? We've never worked together before."

Jackle agreed. NiGHTS continued,

"We could think of a team name! Like…the dynamic duo!" Jackle didn't know what to say, so he changed the subject.

"Did you find the dreamer?" Warping was a rather simple process, all you would have to do is think about where you wanted to go, and you would go there. When you didn't know much about the place you were going to, however, you would have to search for it. This could take a while, because there could be many dreams which had what you wanted in it, but weren't the dreams you wanted to go to.

"I've narrowed it down to two." NiGHTS replied, "So, we shouldn't have such a hard time finding him. Shall we head off?"

"Alright." Jackle took hold of NiGHTS' arm, a loud rushing noise filled his ears, and they were gone.

They had arrived, at a large, bright dream. It was a large field, with huge patches of flowers scattered around it. The sky was a perfect blue, and filled with giant, white clouds. It was filled with nightopians, all playing happily. When NiGHTS and Jackle appeared, the nightopians fled in fear. But instead of going to the dreamer for comfort, like Jackle expected, they went to NiGHTS. They hugged NiGHTS' legs, seeming happy he was there. NiGHTS looked shocked, then furious, he kicked out at them, and they flew away, wailing in distress. NiGHTS stared down at his legs, and groaned.

"It's going to take forever to wash **that** smell off." He mumbled, Jackle laughed. Jackle looked around, and said,

"I can't see the visitor? Can you?"

"No." NiGHTS replied, frowning.

"How about you fly up, to get a better view, and look for him down here?" Jackle suggested.

"Ok, I'll tell you if I see him." NiGHTS shot up into the air, leaving a trail of stars behind him. Jackle searched, in vain, for the visitor, until NiGHTS called out to him.

"He's over there!" Jackle looked to where NiGHTS was pointing. The dreamer was playing with the nightopians, they hadn't noticed them, which didn't say much about their intelligence. NiGHTS flew down, and said,

"Well then, you going or what?"

"Aren't you?" Jackle asked.

"Nah, besides," NiGHTS replied, happily, "it'll be cool to see how **you** do it."

"Ok." Jackle crept forward, being as quiet as possible. He focused intently on the boy, thinking,

"_What are you afraid of?"_ Then, the answer hit him, _"Spiders."_ Then he focused on the dream world. Nightmaren, along with being able to sense a dreamer's fears, had the power to change any dream they were in. This was what Jackle was doing now. He turned the sky red and the clouds black, then made the clouds block out the sun. The nightopians, looked frightened, but the boy didn't, he just looked confused. Then Jackle made it rain, the rain was as black as the clouds. The boy didn't seemed phased by it, until he saw what was happening. When the rain drops hit the ground, they solidified, and transformed into to large, black spiders. The rain was coming down hard now, and more spiders were appearing. The boy yelped, and tried to run away, but the spiders were everywhere. Then the rain poured on top of him, spiders forming on his shoulders and head. The boy yelled, shaking around wildly, trying to get them off. The nightopians fled, warping away, accompanied by a loud rushing sound. Jackle heard NiGHTS laughing at the boy, Jackle couldn't help but smile. One of the rain drops had fallen down into the boy's shirt. When he felt the spider on his chest he screamed. Then Jackle moved forward, as he did all the spiders pounced on the boy. So many had appeared, that when they jumped on him, they completely buried him, muffling his screams. Jackle stood next to the giant mound of spiders covering the boy, waiting. When a dreamer became scared enough, his ideya would be released. The boy's head popped out of the pile, he had a spider crawling into his mouth. NiGHTS laughed even harder. The boy screamed again, only this time, wisps of smoke came out of his mouth. They were, red, blue and yellow. They each formed spheres, which floated in mid-air. NiGHTS flew down and took them. The boy, no longer having any ideya, vanished in a puff of white smoke.

"Awesome!" NiGHTS said enthusiastically, "That was great!" If Jackle had cheeks, he would have blushed.

"It wasn't that great…" He mumbled. NiGHTS gave him a playful smack around the head.

"Don't lie." He said mockingly. The spiders were still appearing, they all jumped onto the ever-growing pile, even though the boy was no longer there. NiGHTS grinned,

"I think I should use some of your ideas." He said, "All I usually do is jump out and yell, "Boo!" but this way looks a lot more fun!"

"You don't have a problem with it anymore then?" Jackle asked, smiling.

"No, to be honest I don't know why I did in the first place." NiGHTS laughed, "Anyway we should go give these to Master Wizeman." He pointed at the ideya. Jackle nodded. Once all inhabitants, (Nightopians or nightmaren.) had left the dream world and when it's creator had lost his or her ideya, it would disappear. Jackle smiled as he took NiGHTS' arm, and the rushing noise filled his ears again. It seemed like things were going to great from now on. It **seemed**…

_AN: A bit shorter than the first chapter, but oh well! I'll admit that Jackle being sixty years old is a bit weird. Those of you who can count may have figured out that, NiGHTS is fifteen. But then, age is irrelevant to nightmaren, so is doesn't really matter. Anyway, not much else to say so, R&R._


	3. The rebel

_AN: We're finally at that plot! _

Jackle was happy. Things couldn't be going any better. Jackle had been made NiGHTS permanent partner, due to Reala's prolonged absence. They were both doing exceedingly well, they both became Wizeman's favourites, they were assigned to the important tasks he had to offer. Jackle was happy with this, before he'd barely ever been outside the castle, now he was being sent out once daily. Wizeman was being very kind to Jackle, which surprised him. He hadn't talked to Wizeman much before now, all he remembered of Wizeman, was him calling Jackle a failure. Now, he was showering him with praise. He had even apologised for misjudging him. Jackle had never heard of Wizeman treating anyone else like this, so he took it as a huge compliment. Whilst NiGHTS and Jackle were both happy, Jackle was constantly bothered by something. NiGHTS, for whatever reason, didn't seem to care about his twin. Jackle had never met Reala, from what NiGHTS had told him, he was very stuck up. But, NiGHTS cared about nearly everyone. So, why would he suddenly forget about the person he called his brother? NiGHTS didn't know the real reason for Reala's absence, Wizeman had forbidden Jackle from telling him. He said he didn't want NiGHTS to get distracted. Wizeman had told Jackle, that he hadn't told NiGHTS any information, true or false, about Reala's disappearance. Whenever Jackle brought the subject of Reala up, NiGHTS wouldn't be interested, and change the subject as soon as possible. Wizeman had told Jackle to try and forget about it, Jackle tried, but he couldn't. Jackle had developed a strong liking for his master. Whenever they were alone, he would always tell Jackle how proud he was of him. For some reason, this just made Jackle feel happy. In fact, when he was around Wizeman, he seemed to mirror his emotions. When Wizeman was happy, Jackle was happy, when Wizeman was disappointed, Jackle was disappointed. It was strange, but Jackle didn't think about it much. He had more important things to worry about right now…

It was a simple task, at least that was what Wizeman had told them. All they had to do, was find a female dreamer, who possessed a ideya of courage. They were both confused, normally they were assigned to important tasks. Dreamers with only one ideya were very common, this was the sort of work a first-level would do. Wizeman insisted that it was important, but he wouldn't tell them why. So, they set out to find the dreamer. The only problem was, now that they were in her dream world, they couldn't see her anywhere. The dream world was an open field, it's sky was filled with stars and the moon shone brightly. It was very dark, but it was lit up by strange crystals, which gave off a green glow. These crystals were huge, they were almost as tall as Jackle. They poked up from the ground at random. While NiGHTS could fly up, and look for the dreamer, the world was so large, he might lose Jackle. Jackle couldn't fly, so they couldn't look for him together that way. They had to walk.

"This sucks." NiGHTS complained, moodily.

"Tell me about it." Jackle agreed, walking at a steady pace. NiGHTS was hovering along, beside him. "Can't you just walk?" Jackle asked.

"Why? You jealous?" NiGHTS teased, flying around Jackle in circles.

"No." Jackle said, smiling, "Besides I'm faster at running."

"Oh, really?" NiGHTS said, mischievously, floating down, so that he was on the ground, "We'll see about that."

Their little contest, helped pass the time. But, more importantly, it brought them to the dreamer. She was crouching next to one of the crystals. Jackle saw him first,

"NiGHTS!" He hissed, putting out a hand to stop him from running away from him.

"What are you-?" He began, then he saw the dreamer, and smiled, "Oh! You've got a good eye Jackle." Jackle and NiGHTS hid behind a group of the crystals, and talked about the plan of action. They decided that Jackle would use his dream changing abilities to get the ideya. Whilst every nightmaren had this skill, Jackle had more experience with it than NiGHTS. When Jackle was about to move forward, NiGHTS grabbed onto his shoulder (He did have a body, it was just invisible).

"What?" Jackle asked, worried. NiGHTS was staring at the girl's face, frowning. Then shook his head, and muttered,

"It's probably nothing." He let go of Jackle. NiGHTS' behaviour confused him, but Jackle continued about his work. He sensed the girl's fear and smiled. Stage fright. Jackle was about to make his move, when NiGHTS stopped him again. Jackle was about to speak, but NiGHTS spoke first,

"I want to do this." Jackle frowned. NiGHTS had suggested that Jackle did the job. Why did he suddenly change his mind?

"Ok, sure." Jackle said, confused, but not showing it. He moved back behind the crystal, and waited. He couldn't see what NiGHTS was doing, it was too dark. But Jackle did spot him eventually, he was moving up behind the dreamer. Then NiGHTS did something which Jackle didn't expect. He spoke,

"Hello." The girl jumped, and spun around.

"W-who's there?" She stammered, she looked frightened. Jackle guessed that this was some strange idea NiGHTS had come up with. NiGHTS walked into the light.

"My name's NiGHTS." NiGHTS said, "What's yours?" The girl frowned, so did Jackle. Maybe this was some trick? He would act friendly, then scare the girl? The girl gasped, and took a step forward.

"NiGHTS?" She asked, looking as if she couldn't believe it.

"Yeah." NiGHTS replied, "What about you?" The girl's face fell.

"You…but…don't you recognise me?" The girl asked, looking worried.

"No. But...something about you seems familiar." NiGHTS answered, looking carefully at the girl. Jackle didn't think this was a trick anymore. This girl knew NiGHTS? They had met before? Jackle should have intervened then, but something held him back. He wanted to listen. The girl looked dismayed. Then she seemed to pull herself together.

"You're working for Wizeman aren't you?" Jackle was surprised, no visitors should know about Wizeman. NiGHTS looked surprised as well.

"Yes." He replied, amazed, "But, how do you know who he is?" It seemed that the girl wanted to cry, but wouldn't let herself.

"Alright. I understand." She said to herself, ignoring NiGHTS' question, "You told me what to do if this happened." NiGHTS looked very confused now. The girl stepped in front of NiGHTS, and spoke. Jackle couldn't hear what she said, she was speaking quietly and he was too far away. When she backed away, NiGHTS had a strange look in his eyes.

"Claris?" NiGHTS gasped.

"Hey, NiGHTS." The girl who NiGHTS called 'Claris' said, smiling, "I told you that you could rely on me." NiGHTS bent down, and hugged her. Jackle's jaw dropped. What was NiGHTS doing? NiGHTS let go of her, and smiled,

"Yeah, you showed me!" He said, happily. They were treating each other like old friends.

"Wizeman can't be that powerful then." Claris remarked, "If it was this easy to stop him from controlling you."

"Or maybe you're just awesome!" NiGHTS exclaimed, happily, pulling Claris into another hug. Jackle stared at the two, he hadn't the faintest idea what was going on. NiGHTS was consorting with the dreamer, that was bad. If Wizeman found out, he would surely punish him. Jackle couldn't let that happen. Not again. NiGHTS was his friend, he wouldn't let him get hurt. Jackle came out from behind his hiding place.

"_The girl must have done something to him." _Jackle thought,_ "NiGHTS isn't in his right mind at the moment. The girl must have something to do with it. I need to get him away from her."_ Jackle strode towards them. When he stepped into the light, Claris jumped. NiGHTS' eyes widened.

"Jackle!" He exclaimed.

"NiGHTS." Jackle said slowly, so that he could understand, "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine." NiGHTS replied, he looked nervous.

"I don't think you are." Jackle disagreed, "Look, go back to nightmare, I'll handle this. Alright?"

"No." NiGHTS said, defiantly, "Jackle, you don't understand."

"What don't I understand?" Jackle knew he had to be careful. NiGHTS was confused. Delirious. Whatever he was, Jackle knew NiGHTS would never do anything like this. There was something wrong with him.

"I…it's…" NiGHTS struggled to explain.

"Why don't you start by telling me, how you know this girl?" Jackle suggested, still in the same slow, deliberate voice. Claris moved forward, and said,

"Me and NiGHTS are friends!"

"Is that so?" Jackle said, struggling to keep his temper. He didn't dislike dreamers, but this one was doing something to NiGHTS. Messing with his head. Jackle didn't know how she was doing it, but she was manipulating NiGHTS. Jackle hated her for it, "Well then, Claris was it? When did you and NiGHTS first meet?" Jackle thought he had her. There was no way she could make up a story that sounded convincing.

"Jackle." NiGHTS said, moving forward, "Me and Claris met about a month ago. Remember when I stopped doing what Wizeman told me to? It was because I was visiting her." NiGHTS seemed to think what he was saying was fact. Jackle on the other hand, didn't.

"Come on, NiGHTS." Jackle pleaded, "Come back to nightmare, you're not well. You're sick. Just come back, I can handle this." NiGHTS looked frustrated, but it seemed he was trying not to show it.

"Listen," NiGHTS began, "I'm fine, at least I am now. Wizeman was controlling me. When I was visiting Claris, I began to realise what Wizeman was doing, was wrong. Wizeman found out, and brainwashed me. It took a while to kick in, I went to you. I hoped I could bring you around to my way of thinking, before I became Wizeman's servant again. But, I could tell you wouldn't stray. So, I became his tool again. I forgot everything. He even made me forget about Reala. Claris helped me remember, I warned her this might happen. I…" NiGHTS trailed off, waiting for Jackle's reaction.

Jackle knew that Claris had nothing to do with this, now. It had been a wild speculation, it was complete nonsense. NiGHTS was telling the truth. Or, was it just what he believed? Jackle didn't know what to think. NiGHTS was his only friend, he trusted him. But, he wanted to stray away from Wizeman completely. That was insane. While NiGHTS had been so nice to him, Wizeman had created Jackle. Jackle realised he couldn't betray Wizeman. So, what could he do? Jackle searched his mind, desperately trying to find another solution. He found none. So, in a wild attempt to avoid, what seemed, the most likely outcome, he spoke,

"NiGHTS, you might not agree with Wizeman's plans. But, you're a reasonable person aren't you? Wizeman will kill you if you don't do as he says. Please, just forget about it. Come back to nightmare, we can forget this ever happened, we wouldn't have to tell anyone."

"What are you talking about?" NiGHTS asked, incredulously, "I'm not going back to being Wizeman's servant! He doesn't care about you, me or anyone else. All he cares about is his absurd fantasy of becoming the ruler of nightopia. I know he treats you like you're better than the rest, he treated me like that as well. It's all an act, he does it with everyone. To make sure they're all loyal to him. When he doesn't need you any more, he'll throw you aside. You mean nothing to him!" Jackle was shocked by NiGHTS' outburst. Then his shock turned to anger. Wizeman wouldn't do that, NiGHTS was wrong.

"Liar!" Jackle hissed, "Wizeman cares about all of us! He'll give us all a position of power when he becomes the ruler of nightopia. You should be grateful, he had given you so much! Others would die to be in your position!" It was NiGHTS' turn to lose his temper,

"Well, if that's what you think, then I was wrong! You're a lunatic!" NiGHTS spat. Jackle snapped. He swung his fist into NiGHTS' face. NiGHTS cried out, and stumbled backwards.

"Stop!" Claris cried. But, Jackle ignored her. He kicked NiGHTS in the stomach. NiGHTS fell over backwards. Gasping for air. Jackle placed his foot on NiGHTS chest, and drew out one of his cards. Holding it above him threateningly. Only then, did he realise what he was doing. He had attacked NiGHTS, his only friend. He didn't move. He was too shocked. What he had desperately been trying to avoid, had become inevitable. NiGHTS seemed to realise this as well. The anger had gone from his eyes. He looked sad,

"I see you won't be persuaded…" He muttered, tears welling up in his eyes. Jackle could feel his eyes getting wet as well, his hands were shaking. NiGHTS' sad face, suddenly turned into a snarl, "I WAS TRYING TO HELP YOU!" He yelled. He shot out from underneath Jackle, leaving a glittering, star trail behind him. Jackle toppled over. NiGHTS moved towards Claris, who took his hand. Claris transformed into shining dust, which flew into NiGHTS. Jackle stood up. He had to fight NiGHTS. NiGHTS wouldn't be convinced. He had no choice. Jackle felt a tear slide down his invisible face. He wiped it away. He needed to hate NiGHTS, as hard as it may be. It would be easier that way. If he thought of NiGHTS as his enemy, he would be able to finish him off more easily, if the situation came to that. But he couldn't stop thinking about his friend, the only one who hadn't judged him...

NiGHTS flew upwards, and dived towards Jackle. Jackle jumped to the side, NiGHTS missed him. As NiGHTS flew up, for another attack, Jackle threw one of his cards. It must've hit, because Jackle heard NiGHTS cry out in pain. But NiGHTS didn't stop. He shot down at Jackle again. Jackle altered the dream world. He created a large wall, made out of the same crystal that surrounded them. The wall was directly in front of NiGHTS. NiGHTS swerved to avoid it. He just made it. Jackle swung his fist into NiGHTS flight path. It connected. NiGHTS was knocked to the floor. He had a small cut in his right arm. Jackle ran forward, drawing another card. NiGHTS was struggling to get up. Then Jackle slashed at his face. NiGHTS screamed. Jackle's card had created a huge, red gash on NiGHTS' face. NiGHTS snarled, and closed his eyes. Jackle was confused, then he realised what NiGHTS was doing. Crystal spikes shot up from the ground, meaning to impale Jackle. Jackle yelped, and ran in the other direction. He felt a searing pain in his left leg. He ignored it, and carried on running. Then the spikes stopped appearing. Jackle stopped, and looked down. There was a large cut, floating where the lower part of his left leg should be. Cursing Jackle turned around, to see NiGHTS charging at him. Jackle couldn't avoid it. NiGHTS hit him directly in the stomach. He was sent flying backwards, he smashed into the ground. A terrible pain shot through his back. He tried to stand up, but he couldn't. He couldn't move at all. He lay there helpless, as NiGHTS walked towards him. NiGHTS stood over him, he looked sad again.

"Sorry, Jackle." He muttered.

"Sorry." Jackle managed to murmur. His vision was going darker. NiGHTS pulled up his fist. Then everything was black.

_AN: Well...wasn't that jolly? I have no idea what Claris' dream world is supposed to be like, so I made one up. Anyway, R&R_


End file.
